


Deep Sea Blues

by naughtyspinster



Series: Supernatural: Family Business [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Other, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Supernatural Next Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-04
Updated: 2013-03-03
Packaged: 2017-12-04 06:25:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/707568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naughtyspinster/pseuds/naughtyspinster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rob and John hit the road again, this time to Florida, after hearing about a string of attacks on fisherman - by mermaids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ch. 1

“You stole my wallet!”

Rob grabbed the shorter man in a headlock and threw him onto his knees.

“You owe me two hundred dollars!” John objected.

“You lost the bet!”

“I was possessed! It doesn’t count!”

John tried to roll out of his grasp, but only managed to get Rob on his back, with one his long legs wrapped around his waist. John bucked, driving his body into Rob’s, but still he couldn’t get free. He rolled again, throwing him into the coffee table. They knocked off the remote control, hitting the power button and turning on the TV without noticing. 

Rob rolled him onto his stomach, and pinned him to the ground. “We can make this quick and painless, John. Just give me the money you stole from me – which you lost fair and square – and I won’t drag your face across the carpet.”

“I didn’t lose! I was possessed!”

John freed one of his arms and elbowed Rob in the side. He broke free and scurried away. He was only able to get as far as the end table before Rob tackled him, knocking over the table and the lamp on top of it. 

“What the hell is going on in here?” Dean yelled from the kitchen.

John had managed to hook his arm under Rob’s knee, while locking the other arm around his neck. 

Dean pinched a nerve on his son’s arm and twisted if behind his back. With his other hand, he grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him off of the floor.

Rob got to his feet, but Cas stopped him from lunging for him cousin.

“Do not make me repeat myself!” Dean snapped. He let go of John, giving him a shove.

“He lost a bet and stole my wallet!” Rob spat.

“So, you broke my lamp?”

“It gave its life so that others may live.”

Dean snatched Rob’s wallet from John’s back pocket. “How much did he owe you?”

“Two hundred dollars.”

“That’s bullshit! I was under a spell.”

“What was the bet for?” Cas asked.

“I bet that John couldn’t keep it in his pants for twenty-four hours,” Rob said. “And then, while I was sleeping off a sleeping spell, he went and banged the waitress from the diner.”

“You were under a sleeping spell, and I was under a lust spell! Spells make bets null and void.”

“Like hell they do!”

“Hey! Hey,” Dean said, getting in between them. “First off, that was a dick move, Rob. There is no one in our family who can keep it in their pants for four hours, much less twenty-four. Ask Sammy how long his celibacy phase lasted. Second, spells – which I was not told about, by the way – do not count. Third, Robbie, you have no business carrying this much cash on you. There’s at least five hundred dollars in here. And lastly, now there’s only three hundred, because this two hundred right here is going to me, because you idiots broke a very expensive lamp.”

“Yeah, from Wal-Mart,” John spat.

“It had sentimental value, jackass,” Dean retorted. He threw Rob’s wallet back to him, while pocketing the two hundred dollars he took out. “Now, what was this about spells?”

Rob and John both took interest in the walls and carpet.

Cas said a brief command in Enochian, making the boys shiver uncomfortably. 

John rolled his eyes. “The witch put under a couple of spells while we were investigating her.”

“And how did she do that?” Dean asked, turning on his son.

John avoided his gaze and shrugged. “Magic?”

Cas tilted his head, his blue eyes send chills down John’s spine. He hated when his dads double-teamed him like that.

“She gave us tea, okay? God, stop staring at me!”

“She gave you tea, and you drank it?” Dean said, his voice growing louder.

“How much did you drink?” Cas asked. Though his voice remained the same volume, the irritation was loud and clear.

John eyed Rob, urging him to contribute. Rob shook his head, and took a step back. Without even looking, Cas reached back and pulled the young man forward and in direct line of the intense gaze crossfire with his cousin.

“A couple of cups,” Rob said, softly.

“How many is that exactly?” Cas asked, standing unnervingly close.

“I – I lost count,” Rob admitted.

“Well, that’s just great,” Dean said. “You could have been drinking poison for all you know!”

“If we did, we wouldn’t be here listening to you yell at us,” John groaned.

Dean whirled around, making John flatten himself against the wall behind him. “You are grounded. Both of you.”

“I’m twenty-one,” Rob objected.

“And?”

Rob shrugged, putting his hands in his pocket, nervously. “Nothing.”

“Now, I want both of you to sit on this couch and watch TV until I get back from the store with a new lamp. Cas, stare at them and make sure they don’t move or touch anything or each other.”

The boys flopped on the couch, while Dean stomped out of the front door.

Cas stood where the end table used to be and stared at the boys, making them both shift uncomfortably. They looked at each other, silently blaming the other for their recent misfortune.

Slouching into the couch cushions, John focused on the television. He groaned, rolling his head back. Of all the channels in all the world for it to be stuck on, it had to be stuck on the news channel.

“More on that this evening,” the anchorman said. “There’s a bit of a commotion off of the coast of Florida this afternoon, after a fishing boat docked with an unidentified fish caught in their nets. Fisherman Charlie Bucket and his crew are claiming that they had seen a real, live mermaid.”

John and Rob exchanged glances. Even Cas had stopped staring at them and turned attention the news report.

“We were just outside of Bermuda,” said the portly man with a captain’s hat, “when we started hearing this fierce wailing noise, like some kind of demon sound, coming out of the water. When we brought up the net, none o’ us could believe what we were seeing! It had a tail like a dolphin, but its top was human!”

“I ran back to my cabin,” a younger man said, “to grab my camera, but when I got back, the damn thing had stabbed Lanny with this weird spear thing and dove back into the water. We got Lanny patched up as best we could, but he was in bad shape when we docked.”

“Lawrence Randell, known as Lanny to his friends, was rushed to the nearest emergency care center where he is currently being treated. His state is currently unknown, and the police are doing a thorough investigation into the matter. Though the police couldn’t find any alcohol on board, they are not ruling it out as a factor. The four men of the crew who are currently under suspicion are continuing to stick by their story of capturing a mermaid.”

“Can we go?” John begged. He hopped on his knees and threw his arms around Cas’s waist, his big blue eyes round with pleading excitement.

“You can’t go anywhere. You’re grounded,” Cas objected.

“Yeah, but Dad always forget after a couple of beers! Please, please, please, can we go to Florida?”

“Why do you want to go to Florida?” Rob sniffed. “It’s July. It’s hot. It’s full of old people and tourists.”

“But, mermaids!” John moaned, squeezing Cas tighter.

“But, you’re grounded.”

“And you burn in the sun.”

“And you’re grounded.”

“You don’t know how to swim.”

“You’re grounded.”

“You’re allergic to shellfish.”

“You’re grounded.”

“You can’t even look at a picture of the ocean without getting seasick.”

“You’re grounded.”

“And I’m pretty damn sure that mermaids don’t exactly exist.”

“Well, less in the mythical creature sense, yes. But, you’re still grounded.”

Rob cocked an eyebrow. “What you mean by that?”

“You are not allowed to move from this spot until Dean gets back –”

“No, no, what do you mean by they don’t exist in the mythical creature sense?”

Cas tilted his head, but Rob couldn’t figure out if it was because he didn’t understand the question or because he didn’t know if he should answer the question. John noticed the indecision on his father’s face, and smiled broadly.

“Pater, what do you know that you’re not telling us?”

“Far more than you can possibly comprehend,” Cas said, flatly.

John narrowed his eyes. “About mermaids.”

Cas blinked at him, his lips sealed on the subject.

“Looks like we’re going to Florida!” John cheered, high-fiving his cousin.

“You are not going to Florida. You are grounded.”

“But after we’re grounded, we’re going to Florida.”

Cas opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it in thought. “I would rather you not go to Florida.”

“Why? Because of some angelic conspiracy to keep mermaids a secret from the rest of the world?”

“There is no conspiracy –”

“Ah, but that’s exactly what you would say if there was a conspiracy!” John shot back.

“I – uh – that is not nice, Johnathan Samuel. Stop it.”

“So, can we go to Florida to not-investigate your not-conspiracy?”

“There is no conspiracy.”

“So you deny that there’s a Florida?”

“What – no, there is a Florida –”

“Then why are you trying to deny us from going to Florida?”

“Why are you trying to go to Florida?”

“Why are you trying to stop us from trying to go to Florida?”

“Why are – no! I do not like this game.”

“What game is that?”

“The game where you try to trick me by asking me the same question with different words.”

“So, what’s your question?”

Cas furrowed his brow. It was rare for him to get flustered like this, but John had a way of chipping away at his zen-like calm that not even Dean or Gabriel could do. In a lot of ways, John was the perfect blend of both of his fathers. He had Dean’s love of machines and weaponry, as well as his inability to keep his hands to himself. He was also the only person in the whole country – probably the world – who could think like Cas did, which was a feat in and of itself.

“You’re grounded.


	2. Ch. 2

That night, John slipped out of his bedroom window and lowered himself onto the roof of the porch. Rob tossed out his duffel bag and John caught it. He then threw it onto the front lawn before motioning for Rob to send the next one.

John threw the duffel bag then threw himself after it. Both landed on the ground, but only one had the sense to roll to avoid breaking his neck. Thankfully, it was John. He got to his feet and grabbed the duffel bags. He put them in the trunk of the Impala and closed it softly. He then hopped up and sat on it to lock it shut.

Rob slowly made his way down from the porch. Despite being clear over six feet tall, he didn’t do so well against heights. His heart was pounding when he finally put his feet on the ground, and the dizziness was slowly starting to subside.

“Hurry up,” John whispered, getting into the driver’s seat.

Rob slid into the passenger’s seat. “I thought you couldn’t find the keys.”

“I couldn’t,” John said, popping open the cover around the ignition, exposing several wires.

“John, this – this is a bad idea. Your dad is going to kill you.”

“I thought you hid the keys,” Cas said, watching the boys getting into the Impala from a darkened window.

Dean sat on the bed and whirled the key ring around his index finger. “I did. In a place he wouldn’t dare look. And he wouldn’t dream of hotwiring –”

They both heard the telltale sound of the decades old engine revving to life.

“He wouldn’t fucking dare,” Dean said.

“He’s daring right down the driveway.”

Dean hopped off the bed and ran to the window as the Impala’s tail lights turned down the road and disappeared into the night.

Rob’s phone rang. He held it in his hand and stared at it. Answering it was out of the question. He looked at John, who just threw the Impala into top gear and barreled down the road.

\--

Rob flicked his finger across the screen of his phone. “So, get this. Apparently, there was another ‘mermaid’ attack yesterday. A fishing boat catches some weird fish that stabs a fisherman with a strange spear then escapes. This guy however faired a little better than Lanny did.”

“How is Lanny doing?”

“Better. He’s at least stable, but the doctors aren’t releasing any information. The investigation has been held up for the moment, what with this new attack. He has been transferred to a hospital in Orlando.”

“The first attack was in Bermuda, right?”

“Off the coast, between Bermuda and Florida. The second attack was closer to St. Augustine.”

“Well, we’re in St. Augustine. How’s about we find the port and go question these new guys?”

“You don’t want to eat first? And sleep? You’ve been driving for twelve straight hours.”

“Dude, mermaids! Actual mermaids! Under the sea, sea-shell bra mermaids!”

“You are way too excited about this.”

“Oh, please, like you never wanted to bang a mermaid, Mr. I-Wanna-Grow-Up-to-be-King-of-the-Sea.”

“That was a phase. I was four.”

“Yeah, whatever. I still catch you singing ‘Part of Your World’ when you’re in the shower.”

“What I do in the shower is none of your business.”

“Remember that time Dad made us stuffed crab for dinner and you started crying because he told you we were eating Sebastian?”

“Remember that time five minutes later when you’re face blew up and you’re throat closed up because you were allergic to Sebastian?”

“Still not as priceless as your face, man.”

“Just take a left up here, you asshole,” Rob huffed.

John pulled a left and parked in front of a fishing-boat dock. “All right, Your Majesty. Your subjects await.”

Rob slid out of the car, but not before rolling his eyes. He looked around the dock then back down at his phone. He flipped through the article until he found the name of the boat that was attacked. “Okay, we’re looking for a boat called – oh, you have to be kidding me.”

“What? The Rolling Queen? The Perky Wave?”

“The Sea King,” Rob said, softly.

John slapped the hood of the Impala and laughed. “Oh, man! This is the best road trip ever!”

Rob frowned at him and slipped his phone into his pocket. “Come on, jerk.”

“Right behind you, bitch.”

The dock was buzzing with activity. Men were scrambling about, getting their boats loaded up with supplies before the tides changed.

An old man leaned against a post as he wound a length of rope around his arm, looking as if he was going to shove off soon.

“Excuse me, sir,” Rob waved to him. “But we’re looking for the Sea King. Do you know where she’s docked?”

The grizzled old sailor spat at their feet. “Tourists.”

“Actually, no. We’re from the Biological Marine Research and Marine Life Preservation Society out of Charleston, and we wanted to speak with the crew to get a better idea of what they saw out there.”

“Never ‘eard of you,” he spat again, getting a bit of spittle on Rob’s shoe.

“I can assure you, sir that we are just here to investigate the possibility of an undiscovered species.”

The old man looked up at him, eyeing him with suspicion. “You think this is some kind of joke?”

“No, sir,” John piped in. “The BMRMLPS takes our work very seriously.”

“This ain’t no field trip,” he said, adjusting the rope and sliding it over his shoulder. “Two men are injured and another one is dead.”

John and Rob looked at each other before Rob spoke. “Dead, sir? The news hasn’t reported any deaths.”

“Curse the damn news! You think this is the first time we’ve been attacked by those godforsaken creatures? Twenty years ago, my son and I were capsized by those sea demons, during a storm. They dragged him down and nearly took me too if I hadn’t shot a harpoon through one of ‘em. But instead of even looking for my son, the police and news thought I was crazy for even going out in that storm in the first place. No one believed me. And the beasts are back.”

“We’re sorry to hear about your son.”

“Don’t patronize me. You probably think I’m just a crazy old fisherman who lost all his good sense a long time ago. Well, you’d be right. I am crazy and I’m old but I ain’t gonna stop searching for those blasted devils that took my son for as long as I live!”

With that, the old man turned on his heel and disappeared below the deck of his ship, leaving the boys on the dock to contemplate their next move.

“Biological Marine Research and Marine Life Preservation Society?” John spat. “Charleston?”

“It was the first thing that came to mind.”

“Did you really need to say ‘marine’ twice?”

“Yes, shut up,” Rob huffed, heading down the pier. “It looks like we’re just going have to find the Sea King by ourselves. You take the piers to the north, and I’ll take all the south piers.”

“Or, you know, we could check out what that crowd of people is up to.”

“What crowd of people?”

John pointed down the pier where several TV news crews and curious onlookers had gathered around a deep sea fishing boat. Rob stood in silence. After a moment, John cleared his throat.

“Not a damn word.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“It was huge!” said one of the crew members as the boys joined the crowd. “Fifteen – no, twenty feet long! Teeth like a sharks!”

“How can you be so sure that it wasn’t a shark that you captured?” a reporter asked.

“Sharks don’t arms and hands,” another crewman snapped. “It has arms just like a person’s but the fingers were webbed like – like duck feet!”

“And big black eyes!” a third member said.

“And you’re certain that this attack is related to the events from last week?”

“Damn sure,” the first crewman said. “We hadn’t even heard about that attack until we landed last night. I had a good long talk with Captain Bucket and we are both convinced that what we saw out there was not human, but it wasn’t a fish neither.”

“All right, folks!” a man with a sheriff’s badge said, holding up his hands. “That’s enough questions for today. We need this dock cleared pronto. Lot of hard-working men and women need to back out to see and they can’t do that with the dock clogged up like this. Have a nice day.”

The sheriff and his men ushered the crowd off of the pier, passing by two young men hauling rope from one dock to the other. When they set the ropes down, they were at the Sea King’s gangplank and the police were nowhere in sight.

The three-man crew of the Sea King were making their final preparations before setting off.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for the captain of the Sea King,” Rob called.

“That’s me,” the first man said, leaning on the railing and looking down at him. “Who wants to know?”

“My name is Jack Cousteau of the Biological Marine Research and Marine Life Preservation Society of Charleston, and this is my colleague, Dakkar Nemo. We know you’re in a hurry, but we’re interested in your story and would like to discuss it more either later this evening or tomorrow.”

“Are you two any good with boats?” the captain asked.

“Of course,” Rob said.

“And scuba diving?”

“Certified from Stanford University.”

“I’m down two men after that thing stabbed my best diver and my navigator up and quit this morning. We’re heading back to the reef where we caught that son of a bitch mermaid and I’m sending my crew down to find it. Help me capture it and haul back to land and you’ll get an even share of the finder’s fee. And a free dinner on me.”

“Free food,” John smiled, broadly.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Captain.”


	3. Ch. 3

John was beginning to wish that they had stopped for a bite to eat before setting sail, especially now that he had been vomiting over the side of the boat for almost an hour with an empty stomach.

It was just dry heaving at this point, making Rob roll his eyes as he pulled on the scuba suit the captain had given him.

“I thought you said you were good with boats, Jack,” Santiago said.

“He must have forgotten to take his motion sickness pill, that idiot,” Rob shook his head.

“And you are a certified diver, right?”

“Have been since I was fourteen. I’ve been diving in reefs all over the world, from the Caribbean to Australia and New Zealand.”

Santiago nodded, watching him out of the corner of his eye before exchanging a look with one of the other divers who was loading a quiver of harpoons. The plan was that three of them would dive and investigate the reef, while the other two stayed on the deck and watched the surface. They were in the exact spot where they claimed to have captured the mermaid, so they were hoping that this was where they would find it, or its home. 

Rob adjusted the tank on his back and buckled in. He messed with the settings and bit down on the mouth piece and took a few breaths. “All set, Captain.”

“All right, boys, we’re wasting daylight,” Santiago said, waving them on. “Watch your meters and send up a flare if you find anything or run into trouble.”

The first two men sat down on the railing and fell backwards into the water holding their masks on. Rob gave a quick look to John, who gave him a thumbs-up, despite being bent over the side of the boat. Rob rolled his eyes and soon followed the other divers.

The water was cold. It wouldn’t warm up until later into the summer, but for now they had to deal with the arctic waters from the north.

Rob followed the other divers, Rick and Davey, as they swam down and began to scour the reefs. He was amazed by how shallow the reefs were; until he realized that the reefs had formed out of the rusting hulls of sunken ships. Several of the vessels had been there for twenty or thirty years, while others looked as if they were well over two hundred years old.

They were swimming in a ship graveyard, he thought in awe. A very dangerous place to be, especially when some of the newer additions were still rotting, pieces of their masts and hull hanging precariously over their heads. The sheer size of the graveyard was phenomenal in and of itself. There must have been well over a thousand ships, ships on top of ships, as far as the eye could see in these murky depths.

If there were such things as mermaids, this would be the perfect place to live. It was vast, and near impassable without proper equipment. Not to mention how easily one could get lost among the wreckage.

Rob tried to stay close to the others, but kept getting distracted. They passed under the fallen mast of a schooner, the name erased by time. A school of fish swam in and out of the seaweed that had grown along the bulkhead. Fascinated by their synchronized movement, he watched them dance around. Suddenly, they broke formation and scattered, only to reform several feet away from the seaweed.

Rob looked back at the seaweed and caught a glimpse of something disappearing behind the bulkhead. Its tail flicked out just long enough for him to get a clear look at its shape. It was almost like a dolphin’s fluke, but it wasn’t made out of solid flesh and bone. It flowed through the water much like a fish’s would, but Rob had never heard of a fish with a tail as large as a dolphin’s.

Rob looked over to see that Rick and Davey were far ahead of him and made no sign that they even noticed that he had stopped. Rob made his way toward them, but something flashed between two hulls. It was long and thin, and he would have shrugged it off as an eel if he hadn’t seen that large, translucent fin on the tip of its tail.

Without another moment of thought, Rob quickly ducked through the narrow space and swam after whatever it was that he had seen.

Rick tapped Davey’s shoulder and made the thumbs-up sign. Davey nodded and unsheathed the knife from his ankle. They turned and followed him.

On deck, John was finally getting used to the boat rocking beneath his feet. He wiped his face with a wet rag and let the sun warm his neck. He still felt nauseous, but at least he wasn’t dry heaving anymore. He gripped to the railing and took several deep breaths, the salt air calming his stomach.

The smell of salt always seemed to calm him down. Despite getting horribly seasick and unable to eat anything with more than four legs, the sound and smell of the ocean always relaxed him. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed Stanford so much. A one-hour drive and he would be sprawled out on the sand under a full moon, falling asleep to the waves lapping against the beach. That was his alone time, when nothing else in the world mattered, there were no people, no responsibilities. He wouldn’t even bring a girl with him. It was his secret nighttime getaway and he wasn’t going to share that with just anyone.

John felt the boat rock and it sent a new wave of nausea over him. He gripped tightly to the railing, and leaned over it to prepare for another spasm. He closed his eyes for a moment and took several more deep breaths. When the urge to vomit subsided, he heaved a sigh and opened his eyes. 

John couldn’t remember the last time he ever had the urge to scream. Years of training had beaten that reflex out of him. But when he looked into the water and saw a flat blue face with solid black eyes staring up at him, he may or may not have forgotten nineteen years of muscle control and threw himself backwards onto the deck with a less than manly squeal of terror.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Santiago spat, pulling him to his feet.

“I saw – I thought I saw something,” John said, trying to catch his breath.

“Well, what did it look like?”

“I – I don’t know. An otter? A really big otter,” John sighed, leaning against a mast. He knew he hadn’t seen an otter, but instinct had kept him from telling the truth.

Santiago looked as if he was about ready to punch him. “You freaked out over an otter? I thought you were supposed to be some kind of scientist.”

“I’m an intern,” John protested. “This is my first time in the field.”

“I can tell,” the captain spat, stomping back to the other side of the ship. He muttered various curses at him, as John slowly made his way back to the railing.

John looked over the side, tentatively, but the face was gone. He glanced back over at the captain, who was now pacing up and down the starboard side. The nausea had been replaced by a different uneasy feeling now. He leaned over the side, just enough to dip his finger in the water.

Rob halted and looked up at the surface. Something was wrong. He could feel his cousin reaching out to him, but he was too far away from the boat to see anything more than a blurry black dot several meters away.

Rob sank to the reef bed, and looked around. He had lost track of whatever he was following a while ago, and now there was no sign of Rick or Davey, which he didn’t think was such a bad thing.

John wasn’t very strong with magic, not the way Rob was. Rob had spent his entire childhood creating things out of thin air while being coached by his trickster father. What little magic John was able to learn from Castiel was just enough to create a silent radio between him and his cousin. One thing that Rob envied about John was his innate senses. When not thinking with his libido, John could read people better than they could read themselves.

And now, John was trying to warn him. Though about what, he couldn’t be sure.

Then he heard it. A harpoon whizzed past him and lodged into the reef. He swirled around and narrowly evaded a second one. Rick reloaded his harpoon gun as Davey dove down toward him.

Rob kicked off the ground and dove through a hole. He twisted out of the way of a third harpoon and looked around frantically for a quick escape.

Movement caught his eye and he turned just in time to see the tips of a large tail disappear behind a barnacled wall. Without hesitating, Rob shot after it and swung around the wall, and listened as he heard the other two divers crawl into the hole after him.

He didn’t have to look to know that Rick was pulling the harpoons out of the coral. He slowly inched away from the walls opening, until he stood in a ring of light. Rick and Davey were getting closer now. He shot himself upward and through the hole, then dove down underneath the rotting deck of an ancient clipper.

He sank down until he was sitting on the sand. He could see through the planks as Davey came out first, closely followed by Rick, with the loaded harpoon at the ready. Rob took a large breath, and held it to keep the bubbles from giving away his location.

Rick and Davey swam in the opposite direction, just as the urge to breathe became unbearable. Rob slowly breathed back in and out, but didn’t dare move from his hiding spot.

He had to get back to the ship. There was no telling what kind of danger John was in. And not being able to swim was only an added bonus to their current parade of misfortune.

Rob heard movement near him and he froze. He prayed that it was a shark. He knew how to deal with sharks.

Light flickered over the malleable fin as it disappeared into the darkness around him.

It wasn’t a shark.


	4. Ch. 4

Rob slowly scuttled away from the impenetrable shadows that perfectly hid his companion.

Why couldn’t it have been a shark? Or an octopus? Or an eel? Hell, he would have even taken a dolphin or a giant squid or an angler fish.

A webbed hand appeared out of the darkness and grabbed onto a piece of the hull that was falling away. The petrified wood snapped off with little effort.

Oh, great. Now it was armed.

Rob felt himself trapped between the urge to run and his insatiable curiosity. 

The armed hand reemerged from the darkness followed by a greenish-blue arm and then the head. Dark, almond shaped eyes peered at him, curiously. It tilted it head to the side; as if trying to figure out what he was. It flowed through the water and twisted its long body around until it was looking at him upside down.

Rob stared at it, unable to move or breathe. He had had no idea what he was expecting to find, but this was certainly not on his list.

Its whole body was covered in the same greenish-blue skin and was spotted like a leopard seal’s, but with a pale green belly. The top of its head was ridged like a dorsal fin that ran along the length of its spine and peaked where the tail began.

Rob breathed out in awe, the bubbles from his mask startling the creature. It gave a shrill cry and shot back into the darkness. Rob reached after it, wanting to apologize, but pulled back his hand. His heart was beating too fast for comfort, and a quick check of his tank meter told him that he had very little air left. He calculated fifteen minutes, at best.

The mermaid peaked out at him, watching him intently now. It wasn’t really a mermaid, Rob thought. At least, not the way the lore had drawn them. Maybe that was what Cas had meant. Maybe these creatures weren’t monsters; at least not in the mythical creature sense.

It didn’t have long flowing hair, or a seashell bra, and it certainly didn’t seem like it wanted to eat him. The creature sat down in front of him, mimicking his position as best as it could with its elongated tail. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Its existence alone suggested nothing more than something purely supernatural, but the more he watched it, the more he began to question if it was supernatural at all.

The way it moved, the way it studied him as much as he was studying it, even its intense unbreaking gaze; it was all just so – for lack of a better word – natural.

It made a bark, much like a dolphin would, in what Rob figured was an attempt to communicate. It could talk. It could – Rob’s mind was about to explode, until he realized that it was still holding the piece of wood. It held it at its side, in an unthreatening manner, but just the mere fact that it held it in its hand and could potentially wield it as a tool sent him over the edge. He was going to hyperventilate. They could talk. They could use tools. He was going to die. 

The creature inched closer and he could see the lines of its face crinkle as if it was worried. It knew something was wrong. It had empathy. He was going to die because he was having an intellectual orgasm at the bottom of the ocean and it had empathy.

Then, all at once, its head jerked and an ear-splitting shriek filled his ears.

That was not empathetic.

The creature shot passed him and out of their hiding place, faster than he thought was possible. He quickly followed it, but it had disappeared into the reef. Then he heard it.

Rob launched himself off of the sea bed until he was hovering just ten feet below the surface. Though the boat was still well out of his reach, he could just make out a dark shape moving underneath the boat. It looked like a pulsating uvula.

It was a fishing net. Though far less disgusting than he originally thought, the fact that they had caught something was far more disturbing.

The meter beeped. He was out of air.

John knew they were screwed when Rick and Davey came back to the boat, without Rob. “Where’s Jack?”

“Must have gotten lost,” Davey said, slipping out of his scuba gear. “I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

Rick handed him the harpoon gun, before unbuckling his tank. “We tried to find him”

Davey aimed the harpoon gun at John, his finger on the trigger. “Bastard was just too fast.”

“What did you do to him?” John spat.

“We didn’t do nothing,” Rick huffed. “He’s still swimming around down there, unless he’s run out of air. In that case, we only have one more of you to deal with.”

John could see Santiago moving in his peripheral vision. He then heard the cocking of a gun and didn’t even have to look to know that it was pointed at his head. “What are you going to do to me?”

“We’re not going to do anything,” Santiago assured him. “You, on the other hand, are going to go for a little swim.”

John’s face fell. “I – I don’t know how to swim.”

“I figured as much,” the captain chuckled. “I also figured that you and your little friend aren’t scientists, either. But that doesn’t mean we can’t use a couple of sides of beef to throw to the sharks.”

John glanced out over the water, but there was no sign of Rob or anything that could be used a potential escape plan. The nausea in his stomach returned, only magnified by the dizziness of having not eaten since breakfast.

The boat lurched and he lost his balanced, falling hard on his wrist. Santiago and Rick sprang forward and wasted no time tying up his wrist and ankles.

“You won’t get away with this,” John spat.

“Actually, we’re in international waters, so, yeah, we will.” Santiago tied a rope through his ankles and rests and secured the knot, despite John’s squirming. The rope was then anchored to the main mast. Rick and Santiago hoisted him up and dragged him to the railing. Santiago took out a knife and slashed it across John’s chest. “Say hello to your friend for us.”

With that, they heaved him over the side. John hit the water hard, knocking the air from his lungs. He wriggled against the ropes and managed to get one of his wrists free. He quickly untied himself and latched onto the rope, wincing as the salt water burned into his open wound.

Something long and fast whizzed by him. They were shooting harpoons at him. Of course, they would, because tying him up, cutting him and throwing him into the ocean to drown wasn’t enough. No, they had to shoot at him, too.

This situation couldn’t possibly get worse.

Movement on the underside of the boat caught his eye. A shark swam underneath him, closely followed by more.

Okay, well, maybe it could get worse.

His lungs burned agonizingly, threatening to burst from his chest.

A harpoon shot straight for him. He kicked out of the way, but the spear grazed his shoulder. Instinct betrayed him and he inhaled, filling his lungs with water.

John’s hand loosened from the rope as his body grew limp and sank toward the ring of predators circling below him. A bold blue shark swam up to meet him, its mouth gaping open.

A gnarled spear sailed through the water and lodged into the shark’s side. It jerked back and forth trying to dislodge the spear, but only managed to stir up a cloud of blood around itself. The other sharks came down on the injured shark without hesitation.

A long, agile creature scooped John up in its arms and swam him to the surface.

“Here, here!” Davey called.

The creature looked up at the boat just as two of the men threw the net over the side and over its head. It cried out and dropped John before diving back under the water.

The weighted net sank fast, catching it and gathering at the bottom. It gave another shrill cry as it struggled against the net.

“Pull it up! We got it! Pull it up!”

Rick threw the crank and the net pulled its quarry from the water. The net gyrated as the screeching occupant tried to claw its way out. Davey latched a hook through the net and pulled it onto the deck.

“Drop it!”

Rick pulled the lever back and the net sank onto the deck, its entangled captive squirming and barking angrily. Rick gave the thumbs-up to the captain at the helm.

Santiago threw open the throttle and steered the boat around, leaving their former shipmates behind in the Sea King’s wake.


	5. Ch. 5

Rob came up for air, just long enough to fill his lungs and see that the boat was leaving without him. And, most likely, without John.

Rob dove back under the water, discarding the scuba gear and made his way toward where the boat had been anchored. Despite all hope, he saw John floating lifelessly and sinking down toward the reef.

Rob surfaced for air one last time then hurled himself downward. He pumped his arms and legs, forcing himself deeper until he was able to loop an arm around his cousin’s chest. They breached the surface, and Rob searched the water frantically for anything that could keep them afloat.

“Fuck!” He screamed into the air. He shook the frustration from his head and concentrated. “I need a raft.”

He shut his eyes tightly and snapped his fingers. From below them, something forced them out of the water. They landed on the solid wood platform Rob gleefully realized he had created. He quickly came to his senses and laid John flat on his back and began CPR.

Two, thirty, five. Two breaths, thirty compressions, five times.

Rob pinched John’s nose and blew two long breaths into his mouth. He pressed the palms of his hands just below John’s diaphragm and threw his weight into each compression, and counted to thirty. He repeated the breaths and compressions until John sat up and vomited the water in his lungs.

John rolled onto his side, wheezing in and out painfully as he tried to catch his breath. Rob grabbed him tightly and squeezed him. He kissed him hard on the cheek until John had to shove him off. 

“You’re alive! Dean would have killed me!” Rob laughed, taking the younger man’s face in his hands. His elation quickly turned to anger. “Never do that to me again!”

John waved him off, still trying to catch his breath. “What – what happened?”

“Oh my God! The most wonderful – the most amazing thing in the world! I saw one, John. I saw a mermaid. I was this close to it. But it was just like Cas said! They’re not mythical creatures! They’re not creatures of magic or the manifestations of the souls of drowned sailors or sirens that lure men to their deaths! They’re exactly like us! Well, not exactly – but they have hands and arms and dorsal fins! And they can talk and use tools! Do you know what this means?”

“They’re sea people?”

“They’re sea people! They are people of the sea!”

“How long were you down there?”

“I don’t know – an hour maybe – but none of that matters! John! John, this is the discovery of a lifetime! These creatures could be another species of human! Another species of human that modern humans didn’t kill off!”

“Where’s the boat, Rob?”

“And the way they move, John! It’s like watching a ballet. Every move is precise and –”

John pushed Rob off of the raft.

Rob surfaced and splashed him. “What the hell was that for?”

“Where the hell is the boat?”

Rob rested his arms on the side of the raft and quietly said, “They left.”

“They left? They left without us?”

“Yeah.”

“Great. So, we’re stranded in the middle of the ocean!”

“Yeah, but they were going to kill us anyway.”

“Oh, yeah, because that makes being stranded in the middle of the fucking ocean so much better, Robert!”

Rob climbed back onto the raft. They sat in silence for a moment. John hissed at the cut on his shoulder and the cut across his chest. Neither of which were all that deep, but the salt water made sure that they burned worse than the sunburn forming on the back of his neck. His shirt was ruined, and he must have sprained his wrist because it was starting to swell.

“Did you at least find out why they were trying to kill us?” Rob asked.

“They were using us as bait.”

“Bait for what?”

“I don’t know. All I remember is getting tied up and then thrown overboard. Then they started shooting harpoons at me for good measure. Maybe the mermaids are like sharks? Like, they can smell blood in the water, you know?”

Rob shook his head. “No, they’re more like dolphins. They’re curious; a bit timid, but still curious”

“How would you know?”

“I know because one of them invited me for tea, idjit! I was nose to nose with one of them! And not once did it try to taste me like a shark would. It watched me – studied me – it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

“Do you need a moment alone? ‘Cause I can jump back in the ocean and drown again if you need some time to yourself.”

“Drown again, and you’re staying drowned. You’ve used up your Save-My-Idjit-Ass voucher for today.”

John rolled his eyes and scanned the horizon. “Maybe if you make some ropes, we can tie them to your mermaid friends and they can tote us back to Florida.”

John laid down on the raft and threw his arm over his eyes. The seasickness seemed to be far worse on the tiny raft than it had been on the fishing boat. He moaned as a wave of nausea made his entire body ache. “We’re going to die, Rob.”

“We’re not going to die.”

“Yes, we are. We’re going to die and it’s all your fault.”

“How is it my fault?”

“It just is, Jack Cousteau.”

Rob rolled his eyes and laid down next to him. He something press against his back and he grabbed at it. He made to throw it into the ocean when he realized that it was a flare gun. Rob sat up quickly, rocking the raft.

“Dude, please. I’m dying here,” John groaned.

Rob smacked him in the stomach. “John! Do you know what this is?”

John peeked out from under his arm. “A flare gun?”

“A flare gun! Do you know what this means?”

“That we can signal for help?”

“We can signal for help!”

“From who?”

Rob’s face fell. “That is a good question.”

“Well, wake me up when you have a good answer.” John rolled over and tried to get comfortable, but the horizon moved with the waves, making him ill. Closing his eyes just made it worse. He sat up and contemplated just diving back into the water to save himself from having to die of starvation, seasickness and dehydration. John rubbed his eyes and watched the horizon. He tilted his head to the side then to the other side. “Hey, Rob, do you see a black dot over there?”

Rob looked where he pointed and squinted. “I don’t see anything.”

“Of course, you don’t,” John rolled his eyes. “You can’t see ten feet in front of you. Give me that flare gun.”

“I can too, and no, it’s mine.”

John snatched it from him and fired into the air. The flare sailed up several feet before reaching its peak and sailing back down and landed on the water to burn itself out. Moments later a similar flare shot up from the black dot.

“We’re saved!” John screamed, leaping to his feet.

“Sit down, you moron! You’re going to tip us over!”

Ten minutes later, an old fishing boat pulled up alongside their raft and anchored. The old man from the dock came out onto the deck and looked them over. “I knew you two would be trouble the moment I laid eyes on you. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you two leave the dock on an actual boat, or that piece of driftwood all that’s left of it?”

“We were kind of stranded,” Rob answered.

“Kind of? It looks like you were left out here to die. Well, come on, boys, we’re wasting daylight. Two land lovers like you don’t belong out here.”

The old man threw a rope ladder of the side of the boat. The boys scrambled up quickly.

“The name’s Harold Rooster,” the old man said.

“Jack Cousteau, and this is my friend Dakkar Nemo.”

“Hello,” John waved, trying to get his foot untangled from the ladder.

“I’ve been reading Jules Verne since before you born,” Rooster spat. “What are your real names?”

“Sam Campbell and Henry Winchester,” Rob corrected.

“Hello.”

Rooster looked them up and down before spitting over the side of the boat. “You boys ever work a boat before?”


	6. Ch. 6

Night had fallen over St. Augustine. The Sea King had been docked for several hours, but the docks were eerily quiet.

Rooster had pulled in on the opposite end of the bay, and let the boys off with a warning. “Get gone before anyone sees you, you hear me? Those good-for-nothing guys that left you out there to die better keep thinking you’re dead, or they’re going to find a way to finish the job once and for all.”

“Thank you for rescuing us,” Rob said, as he helped John off of the boat.

“Don’t mention it. I mean it. I don’t need your bad luck falling down on me. Got enough of my own. Now get!”

The boys made their way down the pier, and as soon as they were out of sight of Rooster’s creaky vessel, they began searching for the Sea King. 

“Shouldn’t there be like a riot or something?” John asked.

“You would think that fortune-hunters would have notified the press before they even got back to the dock,” Rob said, feeling uneasy about the silence.

“There’s no one here. I mean, like, no reporters, no police, nothing. There should be a party or something, right?”

“Unless they don’t want anyone to know.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. This morning the dock was crawling with news crews because the Sea King had a close encounter of the aquatic kind, and now that they have an actual mermaid on their boat – nothing? Why the sudden hush-hush?”

“It has to have been a cover of some kind. The reporters were here because a person was attacked – a person from their crew. Maybe they wanted the publicity just to divert suspicion.”

“Suspicion from what?”

Rob ducked down behind a stack of crates and pulled John with him. “That.”

The captain of the Sea King came down the gang plank with a well-dressed man at his side. The man stepped onto the pier and swung around to face him, revealing a large suitcase in his hand. There was a brief exchange between the men before the suit opened the suitcase and showed Santiago what was inside.

Santiago shook his head and pointed an angry finger in the man’s face. The man shook his head and closed the briefcase, and let it hang at his side. There was a quiet argument, before the man turned and walked away. Santiago flicked his middle finger at the back of the suit’s head, before disappearing back onto the boat.

“So, he was working for someone who wanted to keep it quiet,” John whispered.

“And it looks like their deal went south.”

“Who would want a mermaid but not want anyone to find out about it?”

“Not an environmentalist, I can guarantee that. That reef was made almost entirely from old sunken ships. If word got out that mermaids live in that reef, it would become a protected wildlife habitat. Diving would become illegal. Anything that was lost on one of the vessels would be lost forever.”

“Or some big oil company wouldn’t be allowed to drill there.”

“Or some big oil company wouldn’t be allowed to drill there,” Rob said, thoughtfully.

“I’m beginning to think that you don’t even listen to me, sometimes.”

“I’m guessing that Rick and Davey are still up there as well. I wouldn’t trust anyone who just killed two people no matter how badly I needed a drink.”

“So, what? You Sandman them and I grab the cargo and we get the hell out?”

“Yeah, but what are we going to do with the cargo once we have it?”

“Steal a boat?”

“A boat that neither one of us knows how to drive?”

“No, like one of those little motor boats.”

“You want to drive a motorboat for three hours out into the middle of the ocean?”

“Okay, well, what’s your plan then?”

“We have to get her off of that boat.”

“Her? How do you know it’s a her?”

“I just do, okay.”

“How close did you say you got to the mermaid?”

“I didn’t – let’s just get this over with, okay?”

“I mean, I know you’re into weird stuff, but I didn’t think that included sea people, too.”

“I am going to kill you,” Rob spat, getting up from their hiding place and making his way over to the boat. He stooped down, just below the ship’s railing. He could hear two men talking and recognized their voices as Rick and Davey’s.

“ – cutting our pay in half like that. Who the hell does he think he is?”

“If I’d known Sheppard’s little accident was going to bring the news down on us, I would slit his throat and thrown him overboard.”

“And Murphy – bailing on us like that. Did he seriously think this was going to be a pleasure cruise?”

“Yeah, well, at least those idiots don’t get a share of our profits now.”

“There won’t be any profit is Santiago doesn’t find a damn buyer. Ten million, can you believe that? I’d make fish sticks out of it before I let it go for so little.”

“I hear that.”

Rob glanced over the railing and watched the two men on the other side of the deck. Rob gently lifted the gangplank as soundlessly as he could. He let it topple over with a loud crash onto the pier before ducking behind a crate when Rick and Davey came to investigate.

“What the hell? How’d that get all the way over there?” Davey spat.

Rick jumped onto the pier and looked around for any sign of a prankster. When he didn’t see any, he waved Davey over. The two them righted the gangplank, unaware of the young man sneaking up behind them.

Rob held out his hands in front of him, the index and middle fingers extended. He gave a soft whistle, making Rick and Davey swirl around. In a single motion, he touched the tips of his fingers to their foreheads. Their eyes rolled to the backs of their heads and they collapsed at his feet.

“Dave, Rick,” he heard Santiago call. “What the hell was that noise?”

Santiago came up from below deck, drying his hands with a towel. He looked around the deck but found no sign of the two men. “Davey. Rick. Where the hell are you?”

“Here,” Rob said.

Santiago reached for his gun, but Rob was quicker. No sooner did his fingers touch his forehead than the captain joined Rick and Davey in a deep sleep.

John helped get the other two men aboard and dropped them unceremoniously onto the deck next to their captain. “Should we tie them up?”

“No, they’ll be out for hours. Come on; let’s get this over with before Mr. Moneybags show up.”

Below deck was dark, except for a single overhead lamp above a large glass tank. It was filled with murky green water and at the bottom lay a large unmoving figure.

“Wow, they were certainly prepared,” John said, gently touching the glass. He cupped his hands together and peered through them, trying to get a better look at the creature inside. “It’s not moving? Is it dead?”

“I don’t think so. Certain dolphins have been known to hold their breath for twenty minutes.”

“How are you so full of such useless information?”

“It’s a family trait,” Rob said, walking around the tank until he found what could be a head. He gently tapped the glass, but the creature didn’t move. “She must be scared out of her mind.”

“If these things can even be scared.”

“I’m sure they can feel just as many emotions as a human, if not more so. I bet if given time and enough resources, we would even be able to communicate with them.”

“Really, Jack Cousteau?”

“We’ve done it with apes and dolphins. And these creatures, they’re so close to human that if you ran a DNA test –”

“Can we focus on returning Ariel to Atlantica before we play charades?”

Even through the murky water, John could make out the glare of death from his cousin. Rob tapped on the glass again, but still got no response. He looked around the room until he found a bucket of fish. He climbed the ladder on the side of the tank and dropped in a few of the fish.

The fish sank to the bottom, landing on the creature, then sliding off as she stirred from the touch. She moved her head to see what had touched her, curiously poking at the dead fish. She scooped up one of them and chomped off its head.

“Whoa!” John yelped, backing away from the tank. The sudden movement caught her attention and she locked eyes with John. She screeched then slammed head first into the glass wall between them. “Uh, hey, Mermaid Whisperer, do something!”

The creature slammed into the wall again, making Rob lose his grip on the bucket. It fell in, dumping its contents and turning the creature’s attention onto him. “Uh oh.”

Before Rob could react, she grabbed him and pulled him into the tank. Rob struggled against her, and managed to break free. The creature shrieked and lunged at him, but he dodged and she slammed into the glass. Rob sat perfectly still, as she slowly turned to him, baring a mouth full of sharp teeth.

She cocked her head to the side and stared at him. When he didn’t move, she inched closer until their faces were mere inches apart. Rob blew out a stream of bubbles and the creature swam to the other side of the tank.

Rob shot to the surface and crawled out of the tank before she had a chance to grab him again. She circled the bottom of the tank before sinking into one spot and curling her tail around her.

“Dude, I swear, I came up with, like, fifty different ways to tell your dads how you were eaten by the little mermaid.”

“You are such a dick sometimes, you know that?”

“Hey, when I take a girl out to dinner, I don’t make myself the main course,” John retorted.

After a prolonged glare off, Rob rolled his eyes and put his forehead to the glass. “How the hell are we going to get you out of there?”

There was a splash and then Rob watched as a net floated down and covered the creature. She stirred and then panicked, squirming against the ropes that tightened around her.

“Could use your help, Robert!” John said through clenched teeth as he braced himself against the glass and tried to pull the creature up out of the water.

“Are you insane?”

“Do you have any better ideas?”

Rob grabbed hold of the rope and helped John pull. When the gyrating sack was over the edge, Rob grabbed a handhold and pulled it the rest of the way out. The creature writhed and twisted, making it difficult for him to keep her in his arms. “John, quick, cut her loose!”

“Cut her loose? Now, who’s insane?”

“Just do it!”

John pulled a knife from his pocket and started cut the net free. Once she untangled, she bucked out of Rob’s grasp, sending him backwards. She fell to the floor and wriggled until she was laying on her belly. She looked around frantically, barking incessantly. 

“Make her shut up! She’ll wake up the whole state!”

“And how exactly am I supposed to do that? Sing a song? Do a dance? What, Johnathan, what?!”

“Kiss her! Turn her into a human so she can live on land and be happily ever after! I don’t know, Robert, you’re the smart one!”

“Grab her tail,” Rob ordered, slipping his arms under hers and hoisting her up, much against her protest. With her back to his chest, he was able to hold her, despite her attempts to smack her head into his face. John grabbed her just below where her spine ended and her tail began. Rob started backwards up the steps to the deck.

“God, why is she so heavy?”

“The average weight of a bottlenose dolphin is three hundred and fifty pounds,” Rob grunted, turning toward the gangplank. “And the average weight of a human is anywhere from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds. So it makes sense that a humanoid sea mammal would be between two hundred and three hundred pounds.”

“Okay, seriously. Quit with the nerdery. You’re really starting to freak me out.”

“Shut up and walk.”

“Where exactly are we walking to?”

“I don’t know! I can’t think with Ariel screeching in my ear, okay?”

John looked over his cousin’s shoulder just as Harold Rooster came around the corner with a harpoon gun.

“Shit! Uh! Abort! Abort!”

“What?!”

“Captain Ahab!”

“Fuck!”


	7. Ch. 7

Rob threw Ariel at John making both of them scream as the collided into each other and crashed to the pier.

“I thought I told you boys to get gone!” Rooster snapped.

Rob turned around and held up his hands. “Rooster, just walk away.”

“You got to be out of your goddamn mind!” the old man spat. “Are you actually trying to rescue that sea demon?”

“Rooster, don’t make me hurt you.”

“Hurt me, oh, that’s rich. After I saved your sorry asses this is how you repay me? By helping one of those – those monsters and then threatening me?!”

“Yes,” Rob said. He lunged forward and snatched the barrel of the harpoon gun. Rooster pulled the trigger, but the harpoon narrowly missed Rob and stabbed into a vacant deep-sea fishing boat. Rob yanked the gun from the old man’s hands and smacked the butt into the head, knocking him out cold.

Ariel had wrapped herself around John, making it impossible for him to move, and had sank her teeth into his shoulder, refusing to let go.

“How did you –”

“Dude, don’t ask questions. Just help me.”

\--

Dawn rose over the tiny motorboat as it rocked on the waves an hour and a half off the coast of Florida.

Rob steadied himself as he grabbed Ariel around the chest and hoisted her onto the boat’s side. She looked over the side and gave a high pitched squeal before diving into the water. Rob fell backwards as a wave of water drenched him and his cousin to the bone.

Ariel circled the boat, breaching the surface several times before diving back under and resurfacing on the other side. She barked up at them, until they leaned over the side to look at her. She sank beneath the surface then popped up next to Rob and took his face in her hands. She pressed their lips together then let go of him.

Before John could object, she did the same to him then vanished beneath their boat. Off toward the horizon, they saw her leap out of the water and then dive back under one final time.

After a moment, Rob couldn’t contain it anymore.

“They show affection by kissing! Johnathan! Do you know what this means?!”

“They’re just like humans?”

“They’re just like humans!”

\--

“In other news, the crew of the Sea King was arrested for smuggling endangered species in and out of Florida,” the news anchor said. “They claimed that they were set up by two young men posing as officials for a fake marine biology research facility in Georgia. Though no one has seen the young men since the crews’ arrest, a stolen motorboat was found not far from St. Augustine’s port, though officials cannot claim whether the incidents are related.”

“Yes, they’re pulling up right now,” Sam said, looking out the living room window as a black ’67 Impala pulled up the driveway. “Yes, I have been watching the news. Yes, I saw what they did. Dean – Dean, I’ll handle this. No, you don’t need to come down here. Yes, I know they’re in big trouble. And I’m pretty sure they know they’re in big trouble. Why else would they stop here, Dean? Yes, because they’re afraid of you. Will you – will you stop? I will not go easy on them, I promise. I – All right! I’ll send John home immediately. Yes – yes, Dean – Yes! Okay! I love you, too. Goodbye – bye – yes, I will feed him. Okay, good – goodbye.”

Sam hung up the phone before his brother could say anything else, and rubbed his eyes as the front door flew open.

“Dad! Dad, you are not going to believe this!” Rob shouted, throwing his duffel bag onto the stairs.

“Believe what? How you hotwired your uncle’s car?”

“No, that was him,” Rob said, pointing over his shoulder at John. “But, Dad, listen! I saw a real, live mermaid! Except it wasn’t a mermaid! It was a missing link!”

“We named it Ariel,” John added. “Tell him how you did it with a mermaid at the bottom of the sea.”

Sam looked at his son, whose face was frozen in contempt for his cousin.

“I’m just glad that you are both safe,” Sam said. “Everyone was real worried about you two. And John, you’re free to stay here for a couple of days. At least until Dean cools down. But, hotwiring the Impala? Really?”

“Hey, if he didn’t want me to hotwire the Impala, he wouldn’t have hidden the keys.”

“Are you seriously more interested in a thousand year old car than about mermaids actually existing?” Rob spat.

“Old news!” Gabriel guffawed, coming into the room from the kitchen.

“Wait, you knew?” Rob asked.

“Pater knew.”

“Shut up, John. Papa, why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked.” Gabriel flopped into his recliner and smiled up at them. “How was Florida? I see you brought back a lobster – oh, wait, that’s just John.”

“Don’t change the subject! I did ask you! I asked a million times and you never once told me mermaids were real!”

“Hey, don’t get mad at me. You found one, didn’t ya?”

“That and more,” John said.

“Shut up, John!”

“Wait, what?” Gabriel smirked, leaning forward in his chair.

“He did it with a mermaid at the bottom of the sea.”

“Will you stop telling people that?!”

Gabriel suddenly threw his arms around Rob and squeezed him tightly. “I am so proud of you.”

Rob rolled his eyes. “I didn’t do anything with a mermaid. John’s just being an ass.”

“He knew it was a girl.”

“I should have let you drown.”

“Speaking of drowning,” Gabriel said, looking around the room. “You got a letter.”

“What does that have to do with drowning?” Rob asked as Gabriel slapped the heartlessly torn envelope into his hand. “Have you been reading my mail again?”

“I don’t know why you’re still surprised by that,” Sam sighed, rolling his eyes. “Anyone hungry?”

“I am starving,” John said, happily.

“Come on, let’s get you a sandwich or something,” Sam said, leading him to the kitchen. On the way, he grabbed Gabriel by the ear and dragged him along, leaving Rob alone with his mail.

Rob sunk into the couch as he unfolded the letter. It was just a blank sheet paper that smelt like lemon. He turned it over in his hand then held it up to the light, but there was nothing. He looked at the envelope but he couldn’t find a return address. However, the postage said it was from Egypt.

“I don’t know anyone in Egypt,” he thought.

Rob shook his head and folded the piece of paper back up and opening the envelope to slide it back in. Inside was a single pressed flower petal. Rob took it gingerly between his fingers and looked at it curiously. “Passion flower?”

Friendship.

Rob ran into the kitchen and turned on the stove, ignoring the pairs of eyes watching him curiously. He held the piece of paper over the gas flame and cheered as words began to appear. “I knew it!”

“Robert,” the hidden message read, “I felt compelled to write to you, as I have some information about a peculiar item that may be of interest to you and yours. However, the cliché of invisible ink is such a tawdry trick, that I do not feel comfortable discussing my findings in such a manner. There’s no telling in whose hands this letter may fall.”

Rob suddenly realized that three people crowded around him, trying to read over his shoulder. He clutched the letter to his chest protectively. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Gabriel said, plucking at a corner of the paper. Rob slapped his hand away.

“This is a private message,” Rob said, pushing through them. 

“I thought you got over the whole spy thing when you were twelve,” John teased.

“Says the nineteen-year-old who keeps a pair of night-vision goggles in his duffel bag,” Rob retorted.

“Why are your friends sending you secret messages from Egypt?” Sam asked.

“Because, okay? God, why is this such a big deal? Get off my back! I’m going to my room!”

Rob ran from the kitchen, leaving the other three men in silence.

“Didn’t he used to have a pen pal in Egypt?” Gabriel asked.

“Thailand,” Sam corrected as he turned off the stove.

“Close enough.”

“No, not really.”

Rob slammed and locked his bedroom door behind him. He smoothed out the letter and continued reading.

“Below you will find the address and date of where and when we should meet. I look forward to seeing you again, Robert. After all, I owe you my life. Sincerely yours.”

“Elisabeth.”


End file.
